2021 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 70. Schools
§70-16-102. Meetings - Selection of textbooks – Subject matter expert review teams.

A. The State Textbook Committee shall meet at the call of the chair as often as necessary, with two (2) weeks' public notice, to discharge its responsibilities. If necessary, not later than the first day of December of each year the State Textbook Committee shall meet to select textbooks for subjects taught in the public schools of the state for grades prekindergarten through twelve, which selections shall be for not more than six (6) years for every textbook.

B. The Committee may suspend any currently pending selection process of textbooks and may extend by at least two (2) years the six-year adoption period of those textbooks currently on the state adopted list, for the purpose of delaying for two (2) years the six-year adoption cycle of subjects.

C. "Textbooks", as used in Sections 16-101 through 16-124 of this title, means instructional materials that are designed for use by pupils as a learning resource. Instructional materials may be printed or nonprinted and may include textbooks, technology-based and other educational materials.

D. "List of textbooks" or "the list", as used in Sections 16-101 through 16-111 of this title, means the official textbook list required by Section 6 of Article XIII of the Oklahoma Constitution. The list shall include the textbooks and other instructional materials selected by the State Textbook Committee for use in the common schools of the state.

E. The State Department of Education, in coordination with the State Textbook Committee, shall approve an application process to assemble annually one or more review teams comprised of subject matter experts for each subject area under review to assist the Committee in reviewing textbooks and instructional materials. The number of review teams shall be contingent on the number of subject areas under review each year. Members of the review teams shall have specific expertise in the subject areas being reviewed that year. Review teams shall consist of no less than twelve members each, but may be as large as is deemed necessary by the State Textbook Committee and the State Department of Education. Subject to the availability of funds within the State Department of Education, members of the review teams shall receive from the Department necessary traveling expenses while in the performance of duties pursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act.

F. The Committee shall select textbooks or series of textbooks for each subject, which, to the greatest extent possible, are aligned with the subject matter standards adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 11-103.6 of this title. The Committee, in consultation with the State Department of Education, shall adopt a rubric to be used by the review teams as a means of evaluating textbooks submitted for review. The rubric shall contain a three-tiered rating system in which the first tier shall be labeled "Exemplifies Quality", the second tier shall be labeled "Approaching Quality", and the third tier shall be labeled "Not Representing Quality". The rubric shall also include, but not be limited to, criteria for alignment to subject matter standards such that all standards are present and treated with the appropriate depth to support students in learning the skills and information contained in the subject matter standards, as well as usability for teacher planning, learning, assessment and differentiated instruction. The Committee, in consultation with the review teams, may include additional criteria specific to the subject area being reviewed. The rubric shall require each criterion to be scored individually with justification, and shall provide an overall recommendation for the rating.

G. Review teams shall review all materials in accordance with the rubric adopted in subsection F of this section and shall submit the review and recommended rating to the Committee. The Committee shall consider but not be required to accept the recommended rating of the review teams. The Committee may request that the review teams supply additional information to support their recommendations or the Committee may provide its own justification utilizing the adopted rubric.

H. The Committee, having verified that the review process has been conducted in a scrupulous and fair manner, shall adopt a final rating for each textbook prior to including it on the textbook list required by Section 16-110 of this title. The completed rubric for each evaluated textbook, including the review team's recommendations, shall be made publicly available on the State Textbook Committee website.

I. After a final textbook list is published, the State Textbook Committee may determine that unusual or extraordinary circumstances exist in a particular subject area during the period for which textbooks have been selected for that subject area. Unusual or extraordinary circumstances shall include but not be limited to significant new techniques of teaching in a particular subject area or significant new findings or discoveries in a particular subject area. Upon a determination by three-fourths (3/4) of the members of the State Textbook Committee that unusual or extraordinary circumstances exist in a particular subject area, the Committee may select one or more textbooks in that subject area for the remainder of the adoption period.

J. The State Department of Education shall house the website of the State Textbook Committee on its agency website.

K. Five or more district boards of education may petition the State Board of Education to add a book or series of textbooks to the approved list selected by the State Textbook Committee.

L. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to implement the method and time frame for handling the petitions in the most expeditious manner.

Added by Laws 1971, c. 281, § 16-102, eff. July 2, 1971. Amended by Laws 1976, c. 99, § 3, emerg. eff. May 11, 1976; Laws 1977, c. 229, § 1, emerg. eff. June 14, 1977; Laws 1979, c. 94, § 1, emerg. eff. April 23, 1979; Laws 1984, c. 241, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1984; Laws 1991, c. 280, § 69, eff. July 1, 1991; Laws 1993, c. 229, § 3, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 2010, c. 457, § 5; Laws 2011, c. 49, § 1, emerg. eff. April 13, 2011; Laws 2016, c. 75, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2020, c. 50, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2020.